About Austin

Austin: Where old traditions meets new ideas

When selecting a city to host our 2016 AAHA yearly conference, we wanted a location as unique as our members. We are thrilled to be visiting Austin for the first time, and hope that you’ll join us for an extraordinary conference experience from start to finish. This incredible city offers diverse attractions, from fine-dining and food trucks to paddleboard yoga and rollerderby, that are sure to keep you entertained.

More than two-step

Known as the Live Music Capital of the World®, Austin boasts more than 250 music venues. Eclectic musicians from all over the world call the city home, and performers can be seen everywhere from the airport to city hall. Every year, the city plays host to South by Southwest music, film, and interactive festival. The music festival is the largest of its kind in the world, and has featured musical acts from Johnny Cash to the Flaming Lips to Kanye West. Austin is also the home of the long-running PBS concert series, Austin City Limits.

Pedal to the metal

If fast cars are your thing, Austin’s Circuit of the Americas™ will get your heart racing! This state-of-the-art 3.4-mile circuit track is the first purpose-built Grand Prix facility in the United States and has hosted such prestigious events as the FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX, X Games, and MotoGP.

Hook 'em

Founded in 1883, the University of Texas at Austin was the first public university in Texas. The campus is dominated by the 30-floor Main Building, aka “The Tower,” which is festively lit for different occasions. Famous Longhorn alums include former First Ladies Laura Bush and Lady Bird Johnson, astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, actors Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger, and athletes Roger Clemens and Kevin Durant., Of course, the most famous Longhorn is the university’s mascot, Bevo the Longhorn.

Don’t mess with Texas

The Texas Rollergirls, widely regarded as groundbreakers in the world of Flat Track Rollerderby, are headquartered at the practice space (“The BloodShed”) in Austin. Their top-tier team, the Texecutioners, won first place in the first Women’s Flat Track Derby Tournament in 2006. Regular season bouts are held at the Austin Convention Center.